11.12.03 – Undefeated World Boxing Union (WBU) Junior Welterweight Champion and current World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) No. 3 contender Ricky “Hitman” Hatton will make his 11th title defense when he takes on International Boxing Federation (IBF) No. 14 140-pound contender Ben Tackie Saturday, Dec. 13, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, at 10 p.m. ET/PT*.
Hatton (33-0, 25 KOs), of Manchester, England, captured the WBU 140-pound title on March 26, 2001, with a fourth-round knockout over Tony Pep in Wembley, England. Hatton successfully defended the WBU title four times in 2001 and 2002.
In his first fight of 2003, Hatton registered an impressive 12-round unanimous decision over former world champion “Cool” Vince Phillips April 5 on SHOWTIME from Manchester. More than five months later, Hatton recorded an impressive ninth-round TKO on Sept. 27, 2003, over Aldo Nazareno Rios (35-2 going in). The Manchester native, who turned 25 on Oct. 6, floored Rios twice early in the fight, prior to stopping him for good in round nine. Hatton, a former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Intercontinental and British titleholder, will continue his quest to secure a title fight with 140-pound champion Kostya Tszyu.
Tackie (24-4, 15 KOs), of Accra, Ghana, will make his second ring appearance since dropping a 12-round decision to Tszyu May 18, 2002, on SHOWTIME. Despite battling gamely in his world title debut, Tackie rarely was able to land more than one punch at a time, and had trouble connecting with his vaunted right hand. The defeat ended a three-fight winning streak for the durable boxer, whose best performance came when he rallied to register a 10th-round TKO over former IBF 130-pound titleholder Roberto Garcia June 3, 2000, on SHOWTIME. In his last appearance, Tackie dropped a 12-round decision to Sharmba Mitchell in an IBF 140-pound elimination bout May 17, 2003, on SHOWTIME.
11.12.03 – Undefeated World Boxing Union (WBU) Junior Welterweight Champion and current World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) No. 3 contender Ricky “Hitman” Hatton will make his 11th title defense when he takes on International Boxing Federation (IBF) No. 14 140-pound contender Ben Tackie Saturday, Dec. 13, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, at 10 p.m. ET/PT*.
Hatton (33-0, 25 KOs), of Manchester, England, captured the WBU 140-pound title on March 26, 2001, with a fourth-round knockout over Tony Pep in Wembley, England. Hatton successfully defended the WBU title four times in 2001 and 2002.
In his first fight of 2003, Hatton registered an impressive 12-round unanimous decision over former world champion “Cool” Vince Phillips April 5 on SHOWTIME from Manchester. More than five months later, Hatton recorded an impressive ninth-round TKO on Sept. 27, 2003, over Aldo Nazareno Rios (35-2 going in). The Manchester native, who turned 25 on Oct. 6, floored Rios twice early in the fight, prior to stopping him for good in round nine. Hatton, a former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Intercontinental and British titleholder, will continue his quest to secure a title fight with 140-pound champion Kostya Tszyu.
Tackie (24-4, 15 KOs), of Accra, Ghana, will make his second ring appearance since dropping a 12-round decision to Tszyu May 18, 2002, on SHOWTIME. Despite battling gamely in his world title debut, Tackie rarely was able to land more than one punch at a time, and had trouble connecting with his vaunted right hand. The defeat ended a three-fight winning streak for the durable boxer, whose best performance came when he rallied to register a 10th-round TKO over former IBF 130-pound titleholder Roberto Garcia June 3, 2000, on SHOWTIME. In his last appearance, Tackie dropped a 12-round decision to Sharmba Mitchell in an IBF 140-pound elimination bout May 17, 2003, on SHOWTIME.
